Here is a summary of the scheduled discussions for the Leicestershire Council Health and Wellbeing Board meeting on 25 September 2025.

The agenda included updates on the NHS, children and family services, pharmaceutical needs, health and wellbeing strategies, Healthwatch Leicestershire, safeguarding, and the Better Care Fund. The Agenda frontsheet also notes that the board was scheduled to review minutes from the previous meeting, declarations of interest, and a position statement from Mr. M. Squires CC, the Chairman of the board.

NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England

The board was scheduled to consider a report regarding the NHS's 10-year plan, called Fit for the Future, which was released in July 2025. According to the report pack, the plan aims to shift the NHS away from hospital-centric care and towards community-based care, while also embracing digital technology and prioritising preventative healthcare.

The report pack notes that the plan was developed in response to growing public dissatisfaction, long waiting times, and workforce pressures. It also mentions Lord Darzi's 2024 report, which raised concerns about the performance of the NHS in England. The report pack included a recommendation for the board to note the report and support priority actions.

The report pack included presentation slides from Pete Burnett, Chief Strategy Officer, LLR ICB, that describe the plan as having the following structure:

• Change or Bust Quality
• Hospital to Community
• Workforce
• Analogue to Digital Transformation
• Sickness to Prevention
• New Operating Model
• Productivity and Finance

The presentation notes that the plan follows on from Lord Darzi's independent investigation into the NHS (Sep 2024) and is built on Change NHS.

The presentation states that the plan involves establishing a Neighbourhood Health Service with new Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs) acting as local one-stop hubs. It also mentions the NHS App, a 'Health Store' marketplace for approved digital health apps, a Single Patient Record, and AI Scribes.

Families First Partnership Programme

The board was scheduled to receive an overview of the Families First Partnership Programme (FFPP) from Jane Moore, Director of Children and Family Services. The FFPP is described as the delivery mechanism for the government's reform of children's social care services, with a focus on multi-agency safeguarding arrangements and integrated delivery of targeted early help.

The report pack states that the programme has been underway since July 2025, with the establishment of a Reforms Implementation Board (RIB). The RIB is chaired by Jane Moore, Director of Children and Family Services at Leicestershire County Council, and attended by representatives from Police, Health, Education, Adult Social Care, and Children's Social Care.

The report pack notes that the programme is organised around three Change Groups: Family Help, Family Networks, and Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams.

The report pack included a recommendation for the board to note the content of the report, participate in partnership briefings and engagement events, and consider implications for practice, process, and future commissioning.

Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2025

The board was scheduled to be informed of the outcome of the statutory consultation on the draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) 2025, and to approve the final PNA for submission and publication. The report pack states that the PNA identifies pharmaceutical services currently available and assesses the need for future services.

The report pack notes that a PNA Reference Group was established to oversee the production of the PNA documents for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, and that the draft PNA was subject to a 60-day statutory consultation period.

The report pack lists a number of conclusions from the PNA, including that there is good provision of community pharmaceutical services across Leicestershire, but that projected population increases and housing growth may lead to the need for more pharmacy provision.

The report pack also lists a number of recommendations from the PNA, including ensuring effective planning for growth, supporting pharmaceutical services integration with wider health systems, and strengthening the role of pharmacies in supporting promotion of public health.

The report pack included a recommendation for the board to note the report, outcome of the statutory consultation and amendments made to the draft PNA, and to approve the final attached Leicestershire PNA to be submitted and published.

Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy Review 2022-32

The board was scheduled to discuss recommended changes to the current Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JLHWS) 2022-2032, as part of the current review. The report pack states that the JLHWS sets out the vision, priorities and action agreed by the HWB to meet the needs identified within the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) to improve the health, care and wellbeing of local communities and reduce health inequalities.

The report pack notes that four Health and Wellbeing Board subgroups are responsible for delivering against each strategic priority: The Children and Family Partnership Board, The Staying Healthy Partnership Board, The Integration Executive, and The place-based Mental Health Group.

The report pack states that the review commenced in February 2025, and that a Steering Group was established to lead the process.

The report pack lists a number of key themes identified during the review, including that commitments contained a mix of actions, success measures, or high-level visions, and that some commitments were outdated or duplicated.

The report pack includes a high-level summary of the recommended changes, with more detail provided in the appendices.

The report pack included a recommendation for the board to approve the recommended changes to the current Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JLHWS) 2022-2032 as part of the current review, and to approve the approach to the next phase of the review including indicative timescales.

Healthwatch Leicestershire Annual Report

The board was scheduled to receive Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire's (HWLL) Annual Report for 2024-25, summarising the activities and impact of HWLL over the past year. The report also provides a summary of the HWLL Business/forward plan for 2025-26.

The report pack states that the HWLL Contract is held by Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council under a formal joint working agreement, and that a three-year contract was awarded to Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL) in April 2023.

The report pack notes that key engagement activities in 2024-25 included engaging with 10434 people, providing advice, information and signposting to 9259 people, publishing 24 reports, conducting 20 Enter and View visits, and hosting 18 #SpeakUp events.

The report pack lists HWLL priorities for 2025-26 as GP Access, Mental Health, and Adult Social Care.

The report pack included a recommendation for the board to note the contents of the report, the HWLL Annual Report 2024-25 and the forward plans for 2025-26.

Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report 2024-25

The board was scheduled to receive the Annual Report of the Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Adults Board (LRSAB) for 2024-2025, and the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Adults Boards' Strategic Plan 2025-2031 and Business Plan 2025-2027.

The report pack states that the LRSAB is a statutory body established as a result of the Care Act 2014, and that the main purpose of the SAB is to ensure effective, co-ordinated multi-agency arrangements for the safeguarding of adults.

The report pack notes that the key messages from the LRSAB to the Leicestershire Health and Wellbeing Board are that the proportion of safeguarding alerts becoming safeguarding enquiries in Leicestershire fell from 46% in 2023-2024 to 36% in 2024-2025, that a new feature of the work undertaken by the SAB is to oversee and include rough sleeping within its assurance role, and that new Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland safeguarding adults' resources for members of the public have been launched.

The report pack lists the LRSAB's priorities for 2025-2027 as equality, diversity and inclusion, timeliness and proportionality, and impact of learning.

The report pack included a recommendation for the board to note the Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Adults Board's Annual Report for 2024-2025, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Adults Boards' Strategic Plan 2025-2031 and Business Plan 2025-2027 and takes into account the key points of relevance relating to health and wellbeing.

Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Children's Board Annual Report 2024-25

The board was scheduled to receive the Yearly Report of the Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Children Partnership (LRSCP) for 2024-25 and the Business Plan of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Children Partnerships for 2025-27.

The report pack states that the LRSCP is a partnership between the Police, Integrated Care Board and the Local Authority, and that the main purpose of the LRSCP is to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in a local area.

The report pack notes that the key messages from the Safeguarding Children Partnership (SCP) to the Leicestershire Health and Wellbeing Board are that the Safeguarding Babies and Child Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing priorities have achieved a good level of assurance and so have not been carried over to the 2025-27 Business Plan, and that a priority on Harm Outside the Home has been included in the Business Plan for 2025-27.

The report pack lists the LRSCP's priorities for 2025-2027 as Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), Neglect, Harm Outside the Home, and Belonging.

The report pack included a recommendation for the board to note the Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Children Partnership Yearly Report for 2024-25 and Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Children Partnerships' Business Plan for 2025-27 and the key points of relevance relating to health and wellbeing.

Better Care Fund Quarter 1

The board was scheduled to receive the quarter 1, 2025/26 template report of the Better Care Fund (BCF). The report sets out performance against BCF metric targets, spend and activity and statements as to whether the national conditions continue to be met.

The report pack notes that the BCF plan for 2025/26 for Leicestershire was officially approved by NHS England (NHSE) in June, 2025.

The report pack states that the template consists of tabs that update progress against the following: Whether the four national conditions continue to be met, a confidence assessment on achieving the metric targets, and an update against income and expenditure.

The report pack included a recommendation for the board to note the performance against the Better Care Fund (BCF) outcome metrics, and the positive progress made in transforming health and care pathways up to quarter 1, and to note the action taken by the Chief Executive of Leicestershire County Council, to approve the BCF Quarter 1 report and use of powers of delegation to approve this for the NHS England submission deadline of 15th August, 2025.

Section 75 Agreement

The board was scheduled to receive an update concerning the refresh of the Leicestershire Better Care Fund (BCF) section 75 (s75) agreement for 2025/26 and to approve the continuation of the pooled budget arrangements.

The report pack states that the BCF Policy framework was introduced by the Government in 2014, and that the s75 agreement facilitates the commissioning and provision of services in the BCF Plan.

The report pack notes that the key change to previous plans is that the BCF expenditure plan has been updated for the agreed 2025/26 spend.

The report pack included a recommendation for the board to note the work undertaken to refresh the Section 75 (s75) pooled budget agreement for the Better Care Fund, and to approve the continuation of s75 pooled budget arrangements between Leicestershire County Council and the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board.

Annual Health Protection report

The board was scheduled to receive an overview of health protection activities in Leicestershire from January to December 2024. It covers the performance as well as the incidents and emerging risks over the year. The assurance report supports the statutory duties of the Director of Public health and aligns with key local health strategies.

The report pack notes that the report summarises key health protection domains including infectious disease control, immunisation, screening, sexual health, tuberculosis (TB), healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), emergency planning (EPRR), and air quality.

The report pack lists priorities for 2025 as increasing vaccine uptake, preparing for delegation of immunisation and screening commissioning to ICBs, improving STI and HIV testing coverage, strengthening TB prevention, and enhancing emergency preparedness and air quality interventions.

The report pack included a recommendation for the board to note the annual Health Protection Report 2024, and to recognise the specific health protection issues that have arisen locally, the steps taken to deal with them and the areas of focus for the coming year.